That Secret Smile
by ilovetvalot
Summary: Post Ep 5x05 "Cradle to Grave" - An explanation for the smile exchanged between Rossi & Emily at the end of the episode.


**A/N – Okay, I had a request for a post ep where I addressed the smile exchanged between Rossi and Emily at the end of "Cradle to Grave". Here's my effort. And, thanks to the wonderful mingsmommy, a truly talented lady that forces me to be better than I am, for the beta she did for me on this. I'm sure tonnie2001969 enjoyed the respite.**

**That Secret Smile**

Climbing into the SUV beside him two hours later, Emily Prentiss noted with a small amused smile of her own that David Rossi was still smiling. And, she supposed, there WAS a lot to smile about. The unsubs were captured, the new mother and her infant were safe, and JJ and Hotch were well on their way to tracking the additional missing babies. Not bad for a couple of days work.

She also knew that all those facts weren't the source of that special smile. No. Not this time. She knew the origin of that grin…and it led straight to her. Well, actually, she supposed "her" was a "them" now. After six months of dedicated attempts, they'd finally managed to conceive.

Glancing sideways, she tilted her head. Honestly, this was the first time in months that she'd seen David Rossi truly relaxed. She couldn't blame him, it'd been a hell of a few months. Still, it was nice to see his shoulder relaxed and that grin on his face. "Keep smiling like that, Rossi, and your face might actually freeze that way," she said as they turned on the main road leading back to their hotel.

"Can't help it," he shrugged, tapping his fingers against the steering wheel. "It finally hit me that we have a miracle coming. That baby back there was a hell of a wake up call."

"My bouts of morning sickness hadn't convinced you of that?" Emily chuckled, staring at his profile as he maneuvered the vehicle down the road.

Shooting her a quick look and rolling his eyes, Dave admonished, "Hey, don't ruin the moment."

"My apologies," Emily said, trying to keep a straight face as he reached a warm hand out to capture hers in the cool interior of the SUV.

"Today also convinced me of a few other things, Emmy. We're going to have to tell them. Soon," Rossi murmured, quietly urgent as he executed a sharp curve in the road.

Startling in her seat, Emily raised a brow. "What? Why?"

"You don't think it's obvious?" Dave asked, taking his eyes of the road momentarily to raise a dark eyebrow in her direction.

"Evidently not, if I'm asking you questions," Emily replied patiently.

"You can't keep sneaking into unsub's houses locked and loaded, Emily. Not in your condition," Dave returned. "I'd never presume to tell you how to do your job, but I think I might have a thing or two to say about our kid being at risk, don't you?" She'd never know how he'd held his breath waiting outside that doorway, praying for a positive outcome for all of them. God knew, he'd never put that stress on her. But, he couldn't remain silent either. They had too much riding on this.

"Yeah, I noticed how you automatically took lead when you finally got the signal to enter," Emily said with a small frown as she remembered the way he'd moved in front of her.

"Being a senior agent has its perks," he shrugged unapologetically. "And if I can stop a bullet from getting to my kid, I'll do it in a heartbeat."

There wasn't a lot she could say. To his credit, Dave hadn't breathed one warning or threat when Morgan had made the decision to send JJ and her in first to that house. Instead, he'd quietly met her eyes on that quiet residential street and whispered, "Be careful. Very careful, Emily."

And she had been. Because, like him, she wanted this child. More than she'd ever wanted anything in her life. Flashing him a look with uncertain eyes, she asked slowly, "Are you sure this is the time to be dropping bombshells on the unit, Dave? We're not exactly the image of stability right now."

"Maybe it isn't ideal," he shrugged. "But I can't pretend that I'm not thrilled. And either you can tell them or your body eventually will." Pausing as he turned their vehicle into the parking lot and aimed the SUV towards a space near the entrance, he finally turned to nail her with an assessing gaze. "Can I take a moment to remind you of something?"

"When have you ever asked for permission to do that?" Emily snorted, her eyes meeting his.

"Good point," he grinned. "If you recall, you weren't thrilled when JJ kept this very same information from us. I remember clearly you citing how dangerous it was for her to be in that condition and us NOT know the score. Is that theory any less true now that it's you in the same position?"

"But you DO know," Emily insisted, argument at the ready.

"Uh huh, and I wasn't the one that initially went in that house with you today, was I?" Dave asked patiently. His Emily wasn't a stupid woman. He knew she'd see his point in her own way and in her own time. He'd learned over the last few months that the most effective method of winning a battle with Agent Emily Prentiss was logic. Cold, hard, well-stated logic. Yelling and cursing only caused her to retreat into her shell. But, a patient, well-mapped thought process generally worked.

And his method didn't disappoint him.

"Damn," she whispered quietly, lifting her chocolate eyes to his. Taking a deep breath as she inhaled the warm woodsy scent of him, she murmured, "You've got a point."

He'd also learned not to gloat. Gloating had earned him more than one night on his couch. So, instead he opted for a grateful, "Thank you, Cara."

"We have to tell them," she acknowledged softly.

"I think it would be the safest thing for us to do," Dave agreed, nodding as he stroked his fingers against her hand. "It isn't like you have to quit, Emily. You can still do field work."

"Until the last trimester," she nodded. "You won't argue?" she asked warily.

"Not as long as you take appropriate precautions. You're a smart woman, Emily. I would never make the mistake of telling you what you can or can't do. I value my manhood too much." Shifting toward her in his seat, Dave focused his dark, earnest eyes on her face as he continued, "But, our team needs to know we've got an extra person riding shotgun. We protected JJ and she still managed to do her job. We can do the same with you. But they need the benefit of the information. Agreed?" he asked hopefully.

"Agreed," Emily said, nodding. Gazing at the man in front of her, Emily felt the familiar ache rise in her chest. It had taken awhile, but she honestly believed she and Dave had finally gotten it right with each other.

"Supper tonight?" he said, gently prodding her for a concrete commitment.

Nodding, Emily swallowed. "That's as good a time as any, I suppose." She didn't know why she was so nervous; the team had figured out that she and Dave were together weeks ago.

"Hey," Rossi whispered, cupping a hand against her face. "It's going to be fine, Emmy. There's nothing to feel anxious about. I'll be there."

And staring back at him as he smiled gently at her, she realized that he WOULD be there. And she couldn't have been happier.

FINIS


End file.
